Kustombuilt Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 New to the whole Geocaching thing, and looking to get in on the fun! Just wondering what GPS units people are using and any other info on the subject. Never used a GPS unit so easy of operation is deffinatly a consideration. Thanks! Quote Link to comment
+appytr Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 I used a Garmin Etrex legend, but I upgraded to a Garmin Etrex Vista Cx and I love the built in geocaching function: It has a find by nearest function, found function that also logs finds on a calander, and a find next function. Fairly simple unit to use. Quote Link to comment
+Ken643 Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 Had the Garmin GPSMAP 60cs, was a great unit, Now have the 60CSX, better yet, Nice !!!!! Quote Link to comment
+geognerd Posted September 20, 2006 Share Posted September 20, 2006 If ease-of-use is important, you may want to check out the Garmin Geko 201. Quote Link to comment
Kustombuilt Posted September 20, 2006 Author Share Posted September 20, 2006 I live in Western Washington state so there are lots of big trees around here. How do these units prefom under heavy tree cover? Quote Link to comment
+Zen Cooker #1 Posted September 20, 2006 Share Posted September 20, 2006 (edited) GPSr's (GPS receivers) have different sensitivities, but none of them perform well under heavy tree cover. (The satellite signals are not very strong.) Probably the most important deal breaker for geocaching is WAAS capability, which gives accuracy to about ten feet. Without it, the accuracy is about thirty feet. That difference can mean a lot of extra hunting for the cache (nine times as much area to search). Another deal breaker is connection to a PC (or Mac). It's the only way to go to manage more than just a very few geocache locations. Eventually you will want to download a list of 100 or so geocaches in your area directly to your GPSr. My advice is don't skimp. A good medium-priced unit is the Magellan eXplorist 210. The eXplorist 500 is another good one, but more expensive. I don't know about Garmins, so listen to the Garmin folks' recommendations as well. Edited September 20, 2006 by Zen Cooker #1 Quote Link to comment
Kustombuilt Posted September 20, 2006 Author Share Posted September 20, 2006 I've been looking at either the Magellin Sporttrak or the Garmin GPSmap 60's. Heard nothing but good things about the GPSMap 60's, but haven't heard anything on the Sportrak. Anyone out there use these? If so how do you like them? Quote Link to comment
+gpsblake Posted September 20, 2006 Share Posted September 20, 2006 Probably the most important deal breaker for geocaching is WAAS capability, which gives accuracy to about ten feet. Without it, the accuracy is about thirty feet. That difference can mean a lot of extra hunting for the cache (nine times as much area to search). Every single unit made today is WAAS capable, even the 65 dollar Lowrance GO. But it is not that big of a deal. WAAS is almost useless in the woods. WAAS isn't available in a lot of the areas of the country. And if the geocacher who placed the cache didn't have WAAS turned on, it doesn't matter if you have it or not. And the general accuracy of a unit without WAAS in the open is around 15 feet and about 7 feet with WAAS on. Another deal breaker is connection to a PC (or Mac). It's the only way to go to manage more than just a very few geocache locations. Eventually you will want to download a list of 100 or so geocaches in your area directly to your GPSr. Agreed here. Explorist 210 and the Garmin Legend B&W the two cheapest units that come with the cable to communicate with your computer. The 210 is USB, the Legend B&W is serial. All of the Garmin color units are USB. With the 50 dollar rebate from Garmin, the Venture Cx is around $150 and is a color unit with SD card capability. The Explorist 210 is probably easier to learn than the Garmins because it has a lot less software features. Quote Link to comment
+gpsblake Posted September 20, 2006 Share Posted September 20, 2006 I've been looking at either the Magellin Sporttrak or the Garmin GPSmap 60's. Heard nothing but good things about the GPSMap 60's, but haven't heard anything on the Sportrak. Anyone out there use these? If so how do you like them? Magellan Sportraks have been discontinued for some time now. Unless you can get one really, really, really cheap, I wouldn't go with them. Everyone who owns a 60 series loves them, especially the 60Cx & 60CSx which comes with a much more sensative antenna. But you probably know, the 60 series are not cheap. Quote Link to comment
Kustombuilt Posted September 20, 2006 Author Share Posted September 20, 2006 Didn't know that about the Sprotrak! Thanks. My worry with the Garmin 60 series is they might no be the easist to learn in terms of operation. Are they fairly easy to get the hang of? Quote Link to comment
+GOT GPS? Posted September 20, 2006 Share Posted September 20, 2006 (edited) The cheapest that I know of with good expandibility is the Meridian Gold. In the deep woods of the northwest, a Meridian may be better than any Garmin older than this years models Edited September 20, 2006 by GOT GPS? Quote Link to comment
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